Hey guys, hope this doesn't sound like a dumb question but, I was just wondering how often I should get an alignment. I just got the rrm rear strut bar and I already had the front bar. I also just swithced out my winter tires and put my 17 inch rims back on. The reason I was wondering is because I just read another post and someone said to get an alignment after any suspension mod. Never got one so just wondering if I need it. Thanks for any help. Sarah Ann

 

I think with suspension, its springs coilvoers any lowering or highering of that sort, dont know about strut bars.... But yeah basically everytime you change ride hieghth b/c my friend with his eclipse changes the heighth of it once a month and his wheels are always out of whack.

 

Get it if your car is pullin to the left or the right.

 

If you modify the suspension it's always a good idea to get an alignment. Better safe then sorry. The stock Lancer doesn't have any suspension mods, as far as bars go, so it isn't aligned for them.

Fox

PS- INXS kicks ***... sorry just what I'm listening too right now.

 

Cool, thanks guys. It's just that the dealer told me it would be around $64. I just want to make sure I'm not spending my dough on something I don't need. As far as steering goes, It does seem to drift very,very slighty to one side. but I think that may be just how it is becasue it is not very noticeable and it seems like one day to the right and the next day to the left. If it is a problem should it be moving drastically/noticably. Sarah Ann

 

Totally random to us but not to u b/c ur listening to them but, anyways...

 

You only need an alignment or check if you're having: excessive tire wear; severe pulling to one side or another (and it's pulling that you can't attribute to the road you're on).
you may want an alignment check if you: autocross or road race, are noticing that the car won't drive straight when the wheel is at the proper 12 o'clock position, want the car to handle differently in daily driving situations.

There is no camber adjust on these cars. If you lowered the car to the point that you're showing a lot of negative camber you can: live with it; just get your toe adjusted (because toe is the real culprit in tire wear)

I had my alignment done after my progress spring install- biggest rip off of $60 ever. They showed me before and after numbers and there was no change on either end to camber, and ONLY 0.03 degrees change to the front passenger toe.
I now do my own alignments- they take about 30 minutes if I'm changing all 4 corners (about 10 minutes to just check) and I'm accurate to 0.00 degrees


Other issues such as steering wobble or vibration, clunking/clicking, etc are caused by broken parts or out-of-balance tires/rims- alignment won't fix those issues.

 

Thanks engineer boy. I really don't think I am going to need it done. All I have are the strutbars and the pulling may just be because of the road. Just want to be sure and take the best care of my car I possibly can you know, it's gotta last. Hope not getting it is a good idea.

 

Oh, I forgot to mention that excessive negative camber can be "corrected" with a camber kit (usually two bolts for each side that replace the OEM strut bolts). I can't remember where I got mine, but they're made by Ingalls and were less than $50 shipped for 4 bolts (compare to $99 before ship for 2 bolts from a major vendor on this site).

 

I´m having excessive rear tire wear. To the point where my rear tires are bald and my front advans still have quite a bit of tread still on them (maybe another 8,000 miles on them minimum). I´m thinking I should get an alingment obviously, is it the negative camber that is probably affecting me? If there´s no adjust for it (without the mentioned kit) is that something they won´t be able to fix?

Lastly, is there another good place to have this done other than the dealer so that I don´t have to worry about them seeing mods? And should I get new tires first before having the alignment done or does that not even matter?

Thanks!

 

Evo and Lancer are two different animals. The evo has about +- 1 degree in the front, and the rear is probably the same as the other lancers (which I think will go out to -2.5 IIRC, but I have't tried that much). Excessive wear across the tire is a toe issue. excessive wear in a band around the tire means you have camber that effects that section of the tire, and you probably try to spin the tires too much. Or in the case of the Advans, you just rode on them too long with that camber.

In the case of the rears being dramatically different, I think it may be too late for you. You might need at least 2 new tires and then an align. I'd take it to a tire shop that also does alignments and have them take a look. Or, if you search you'll find info about DIY alignments and how to check the angles of your tires (if you don't find it here, google). So if you don't want to pay someone to check your rear toe, you can do it at home.

 

Myself and my brother bought had our cars aligned after they where lowered. I waited almost a year to get it done, he did it the day he lowered his car.

 

Thanks for the info!

Yeah I don´t spin my tires all that much. I, as many Evo drivers, do drive a bit on the spirited side, but tire spinning is something I have to do intentionally with this car it seems. Which I don´t. I definately think the toe issue is what´s doing it based on your description. It is definately worn (bald) across the entire surface of the rear tires. Toe is where the tires are like //---\\ or \\---// if you´re looking from above the car right? And camber is the same //---\\ or \\---// but if you´re looking from like the rear of the car at ground level?

I´ll definately look at the DIY guides, I can probably do this myself. However, what are the odds of the dealer fixing it and offering to replace the tires with new Advans for me since they gave me the car out of spec? I´m thinking fat chance but maybe it´s worth a try?

 

If you don't rotate your tires yourself and have some shop do it for you they sometimes offer an alignment on the cheap. If your car is pulling then you should go check it out. If not be sure to check your tires for uneven wear patterens at least every weekend or so when you check the tire pressure. (everyone should check tire pressure regularly)

After I drop my car later this summer I plan on having an alignment just to be safe, tires aren't cheap and an alignment is in comparison a very cheap matinance thing to do.

Fox